Hi. We are a design/style LA based company specializing in mixing eclectic styles on moderate budgets. Also we have a strange amount of fun blogging about all our design and style adventures. Right now I’m happy to say that I’m Target’s home spokesperson, bringing accessible/stylish design to the masses.

A Family Update

My favorite 8 things about our Australia trip (and the 1 sad thing)

We have a few very good Australian friends, and over the past 8 years they have all but bribed us to make the trip. Brian and I were always on the same page – if we were going to spend the money and go that far, we would opt to go to Peru, or Tokyo, or somewhere more foreign and exotic (we are actually DYING to go back to Vietnam and Laos). But when Brian booked a big job in Australia, I wasn’t about to let him go by himself. I’ve always known that Australia has an extremely strong design community, and a LOT of great art/design is coming from there. So, I figured I’d get some good content out of it, too (which of course didn’t happen because I have 2 kids that weren’t into shopping, and whom I felt too guilty to really ditch them and browse).

So off we flew to Australia, which was a 15 hours with a 2 1/2 year old and a 5 month old. That part wasn’t a treat, and we certainly weren’t the best PR people for 2 children, but we survived. Both kids were ok on the flight – neither amazing or disastrous. I think we are becoming rather good at traveling with kids (and yes, I’m writing a whole post about it).

Our verdict on Australia? We loved it. Sydney is amazing. Australians are hunky/beautiful, and so nice. And while it didn’t feel “foreign, ” it did surprise me at how different it was from LA – the people, architecture and culture had enough differences that I really felt like I was somewhere new.

Here are the 8 highlights of our Australian trip (in descending order).

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8. Bondi Beach

Now, this is Sydney’s most famous beach with that iconic pool on the ocean, which is worth the drop by for sure. Bondi is definitely full of tourists, but it’s also pretty darn fun.

That guy (above) was voted #1 most adorable tourist ever. We had some margaritas at Bucket List, which was an example of how a tourist restaurant can still be well-designed.

7. The Ferry – Traffic wasn’t awesome (where is it?), but getting around on the ferry sure was a fun and lovely way to commute around the city. Somehow I can’t find ONE photo of us on the ferry, instead just shots of the view from the ferry, including the iconic opera house. I will say that trying to take photos with kids, both kids, is just so hard. I think on the ferries I was inside with Elliot trying to keep her out of the sun, while Brian and Charlie were outside on the boat. Charlie was having the time of his life.

6. The Bars – Australians know how to drink. Inside, outside, and do it in a way that is both casual and with yet ritual. There are so many outdoor bars that really puts LA’s drinking scene to shame. The pubs are HUGE, with room after room, all with different bars in them. I think if it were in the states they would inevitably be douchey, but instead they were filled with cool people. We spent a few kid-free hours at Clocks in Surry Hill, which was lackluster from the outside but so fun on the inside.

I’m pretty into this color palette, as I know you know.

5. The Food – It was hard to find a bad meal in Sydney. Maybe it’s because there are no chain restaurants and there are so many fresh ingredients, but we were all so impressed with how delicious the food AND THE COFFEE was. Oh the coffee. I could use 9 flat whites in my veins right now.

We had Easter brunch at this insanely fancy restaurant in Rose’s Bay – perfect for an infant and toddler (opposite). We didn’t know where to go and just landed there, but the food was amazing, the service was lovely, and they were so nice to us even though I’m sure we weren’t their ideal clients.

Please excuse Brian’s “transition” glasses. We were assured they wouldn’t do the exact thing that they are now doing – going 1/2 way dark in any light room.

I went to The Paddington restaurant twice because I liked it so much (and we were staying nearby). We even brought the kids, and this is a good example of Charlie being good, and not throwing a tantrum in a restaurant (keep reading).

4. Centennial Cafe and Park – If this were in LA, it would be slam packed every weekend. It’s a cafe in the middle of the park near a playground. What that means for people with kids is that they can sit, eat, and drink while kids go out and safely play in the grass (no streets around).

3. Gerringong and Berry – These two towns are two hours south, on the coast and they were so lovely. We cruised down there because Brian was shooting a video at Buena Vista Farms, so we brought the whole family. The farm was amazing and pretty much where I’d love to raise our kids.

Berry was amazing and absolutely worth the trip. The highlight was the restaurant Berry Sourdough Cafe. It was such a pretty inspiring design, and the food was quite possibly my favorite food in Australia (or LA). So fresh, delicious, and unexpected. I’m going to order the book to try to make their chicken soup because it was that good. Here is a photo of the restaurant.

I wish I had taken a prettier picture, but what you see here is the remains of the worlds biggest toddler meltdown because I opened Charlie’s muffin for him – you know, took off a chunk and gave it to him. MELTDOWN. It was kinda funny at first, he was so hurt and upset and he just couldn’t get it together. Literally and figuratively. He kept begging me to put it back and I tried but it wouldn’t stay. Meanwhile, he was ruining so many lovely people’s delicious meal by screaming. Then I bought him another one (because I had NO idea how to fix this, and I hadn’t ordered yet, and it was supposed to be the best bakery in Australia so an extra muffin was going to hurt no one), and that didn’t work either.

So we had to leave, and I cried. Literally. I walked out crying. We went to a park, calmed down, talked about why that happened, and came back an hour later. The waitress was really excited to see us walk through the door (opposite), but since she is Australian she was still super nice to us. I ordered and ate as if a bomb could explode at any point – fast and nervous, without one second of relaxing. Despite all that, the food was so delicious that I would make the trip back IN A SECOND. Plus look how cute it is:

That navy and leather had my number. But the food. THE FOOD. So insanely good.

The weather was so-so, and in fact it rained on and off the entire time, which apparently is normal. I don’t really care about the lack of sun – we played at the beach and cruised around the beach, poked at tad poles, etc.

Brian shot at Buena Vista farms which was incredible. It’s a family run farm that has cows, chickens, chicks, and makes its own yogurt, milk, custard, etc. They also had two kids that seemed to have a pretty idealic life.

2. Shopping. Now I didn’t get to go to NEARLY as many stores that I wanted to (see reason, below), but when I did get out it was good. I spent 1/2 day in Paddington (barely), Surry Hill, and Bondi Junction. The highlights were as follows:

This store was in a mall (Bondi Junction), which actually had a ton of great stores. I bought 4 things here that I LOVE. Really good patterns/fit, plus great merchandising.

Citta – This photo below, doesn’t really do it justice, and if this weren’t already the longest post in history I would put in way more photos, but just go to Citta. It’s awesome. Next week I’m going to shoot a bunch of the pieces that I bought for you.

Hay – Hay is a brand from Denmark that I’ve loved for years but isn’t in the states yet. They opened a store in Sydney this year and it’s beautiful.

I want one of those lamps (below) SO BAD. Now I really regret not getting it, but seemed like such a difficult thing to get home.

I also love this desk setup. Such a beautiful simple chair in the perfect color.

Downstairs they had such simple beautiful furniture as well.

1. Watsons Bay – It’s beautiful, kid-friendly, (there is a park and a harbour beach), and is just so cute, chill, and colorful.

But the real best thing about the trip was HANGING OUT. We rented a house via Kid and Coe, which are vacation rentals for families. It was WONDERFUL. The house was big, comfortable, indestructible, and full of toys, books, cribs, etc. So we didn’t have to worry about that. The second that Charlie walked in he went to the toy room and spent a few hours just playing by himself, which was a dream for his jet lagged parents.

Those two. OBSESSED with each other. Obsessed. I had no idea how happy that would make me.

The rooms were adorable, too. We stayed in Woolhara, and there were some great quiet and forest-y parks nearby that we took the kids to. We built forts and went on mini hikes. It was so lovely to just be with my kids for a few days.

Unfortunately, and not to bum you out, but Brian got very sick – as in we thought he had listeria he was so sick. As in, I Emily-borderline-neglectful-Henderson was worried that he should be hospitalized.

The first 9 days we both worked, he shot videos and I wrote/work/hung out with kids. We went out to dinner and did have some great times. We were saving the last 5-6 days for the real“vacation.” That’s when we were going to go to the zoo, take some day trips (Blue Mountains?), relax/unplug COMPLETELY, and hit some lunch/happy hour spots I was dying to see. But sadly Brian was so sick that he couldn’t be with the kids (we didn’t know what he had, and we didn’t want them to get sick), so the “vacation” turned into me taking care of two kids and a sick husband. I’m not going to sugar coat it, it wasn’t awesome.

We had so been looking forward to some family time and while, sure, I got some kid-time, it wasn’t exactly what I had pictured. Bitching about how a vacation went awry doesn’t seem like a very good use of my time or your time, but also blogging about the trip and not mentioning that 6 of the 14 days were basically moot seemed unauthentic. We laid around, played in the backyard, and took care of daddy. Once I got over the fact that we were supposed to be on a real vacation in a beautiful country that we’ve never been to, then it was fine. I pretended like we were just home and I tried to do mellow activities with the kids.

We have started laughing about it already. I still think he contracted lysteria, but we don’t really know. He got tested there but the results weren’t in before we left, and frankly I don’t want to find out that he just had the flu because “lysteria ruined my vacation” is a MUCH better story than the flu.

So I had to bring-it parent-wise, and not only be in an extra good mood, but entertain those two little angels. Brian rallied a couple days and tried to get out of the house with us. He put it on for the kids and was father of the year. A 6 day long flu/bacteria isn’t exactly the end of the world, so we tried to keep it in perspective and we were constantly planning our next, actual vacation. That poor dude.

We pulled it together and made it to the Fernwood Wildlife place which was the usual – kinda fun, kinda depressing. We thought it was going to be more “rescue-y” but, not so much.

Charlie had a pretty great time because feeding kangaroos and koalas is clearly fun for kids.

Thank god we had a really happy house to come back to. Look at Charlie’s room:

So cute. The house was hard to shoot, but there were a lot of little moments like this that we loved:

Charlie and Elliot had so much to do, and so many toys. There was even a trampoline in the backyard and Charlie bounced, and bounced, and bounced.

On the last night Brian felt better, good enough to take a long walk, go get ice cream, and a dinner. It left the trip on a good note, not because it was an amazing dinner, but because walking as a family for 1/2 hour in a beautiful neighborhood, with a toddler that finds a leaf and runs up to his mommy to give it to her, is a really good thing.

Was Australia awesome? YES. Was the trip amazing? Let’s just say we’ll be back to properly enjoy it next time. I know that we are very lucky to even be able to bring our kids to another country. I didn’t leave the US ’til I was 21, so I hesitated writing about the less than awesome stuff. But regardless of where you are on vacation, when someone gets really, really sick, the truth is it changes the trip a bit.

Dear Australia, I love you and someday (when the kids are older – I’m not doing another 15 hour flight for a few years) we’ll be back. Looking at these photos already makes me nostalgic for the days that we got there that were so relaxing. I LOVE that family so much, especially when everyone feels healthy. This week has been rather busy/rough shooting every day in a location that had a 1 1/2 hour commute, Elliot caught the flu with a really bad fever, and Brian was shooting a video. So lets just say we are looking forward to the weekend more than usual.

TGIF, my friends. May your weekend be full of relaxing, cuddling, and watching of TV (is anyone else obsessed with Catastrophe?). xx

Lovely post.
Real life abot family, kids and travel.
My kids are parents themselves now
And because we traveled with them since they
Babies, they are world class travelers
And they take their kids along with them.
” ah, the places you will go and the people you will see.”
You and your family is on a amazing ride,

Hi Emily! You can get those lamps you saw at Hay from Property in NYC. I just sourced them for a client. Only issue is they only come with European wiring, but a simple adapter should solve that. I thought they were surprisingly affordable for how cool and sculptural they are!

NOTHING more awful than being sick on an airplane. I was on one long-haul, where someone got really ill, and had to hog the bathroom. The whole plane smelled of vomit. Poor guy was so pale and sweaty, and kept apologizing to everyone. It was a 14-hr flight, so no picnic for any of us.

I was very ill on a flight back from China years ago and to this day, I will never judge or complain anytime someone is sick and having any sort of “situation” on a plane – it is MUCH better to be the person merely inconvenienced by a bad smell than the person IN that situation.

Now, I’m just like, “screaming babies, sick passenger, whatever, bring it on as long as I can sit in my seat and not be blacking out in the bathroom from illness”.

I love this post so much because I identify with it so much. Two kids can be SO HARD. Sibling bffs are literally the greatest thing on the whole entire planet and I can’t believe we mothers of more than one aren’t all dead from heart explosions. Any mom who says she hasn’t left an establishment in tears is a LIAR and I will say it to her face (I cried in Chipotle just two days ago!).

I also want to say, it really really sucks that Brian got sick on your amazing vacation. I tend to do that thing too, where you feel guilty because you have such a privileged life and you feel like you shouldn’t complain, but you know what? Sometimes people with great lives have shitty things happen too. He was really sick (and it sounds like it was scary), and you didn’t get to have the precious family time you wanted. It’s ok to be sad about that. You’re not sad that your yacht broke down, you’re sad about a real thing. That said, I’m glad you had some great moments too! Australia sounds amazing!

1) Catastrophe is so good.
2) My husband is Australian and we’re flying there from Austin next year when we will have a 5 month old – good to know it can be some while retaining some sanity.
3) One of us always gets sick on vacation – it’s like our bodies/minds wait until we’ve stopped pushing through the stress of work to catch up with us! I sympathize!

I grew up in Australia, and last time we were back visiting family… my husband got appendicitis. So yep, I feel ya. At one point I was so tired from constant parent duty that I fell asleep at a table in the hospital cafeteria. #vacation #preciousmemories. Glad Brian is better now!

Travelled to the US from the UK for three weeks and caught food poisoning from the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco our second night. So awful (we weren’t staying in the hotel so they didn’t do anything for us). It’s really hard not to cry in a heap on the floor and insist on coming home (the soggy mess was me). The anti nausea meds gave me extreme sun sensitivity so we basically stayed indoors for a week. Really bummed to miss so many things (golden gate bridge) but there were some great moments and the memories of the bad stuff will ease a bit and you’ll still feel fuzzy about the good memories ?

Aww, being sick is the worst! I’m battling the flu right now, and I just feel so miserable and it feels like I’ll never be happy again. But the best part of getting sick is when you finally feel better and you’re like LALALA Life is GRAND!

Emily Henderson I love you. You could have just posted a bunch of gorgeous pictures of beautiful Sydney and your adorable family but instead you don’t sugarcoat it. Thank you. (PS. I’m sorry you had some crappy times on your trip but also what an amazing experience to travel to the other side of the world)

The lovely photos and talk of delicious food have me really wanting to go to Australia!

It sucks that Brian got sick. I really hope you get him checked out in LA, even if his symptoms have gone away. You never know what he might have contracted out in that rural area. Australia has many of the same insect born diseases that we do, and probably others that I have never heard of. Some diseases can hide in the body for years and cause problems later on if they aren’t treated. I myself have had Lyme disease and will never look at tall grass the same way again.

Hi from Aussie 🙂 We don’t have Rabies or the ticks that cause Lyme disease, BUT we have all sorts of dangerous spiders that can bite and then cause problems after-the-fact. We actually learn what’s what re: snakes and spiders in school – it’s a serious thing, but I’ve never personally known anyone that’s had a serious issue with ither (mind you, I did have a very poisonous snake in my house once, when I exited the bathroom naked and then ran, screaming out he front door to Mr who was washing the car on the lawn! THAT was scary!)

Thanks for the friendly response! Though it may not yet be very common, there actually is Lyme disease in Australia. 🙁 The Lyme Disease Association of Australia website has some good stats on it: http://www.lymedisease.org.au

OMG–I can totally empathize with you–Our 10 day ski/snowboard trip to Jackson Hole started with my 8 year old projectile vomiting on the plane nonstop for 3 hours and this horrible flu (think relentless puking/diarrhea, 4 rotating trashcans in an overpriced tiny hotel room) moved through the entire family. The one day my hubs/son finally made it out on the mountain my 12 year flipped on the terrain park and broke his collarbone. I couldn’t wait to get home. And yet, I’m so looking forward to going back…Your pics are beautiful.

Hi Emily, So sorry that Brian got sick on your trip. Living in Melbourne I was eagerly checking Insta, awaiting your posts about Australia to see where you went and what you thought. This now explains it. Thanks for being your wonderful self and your honesty. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must have been for you to be all the way here and not be able to fully enjoy it. (also for Brian of course)
Speaking of long haul travel; for Aussies 15 hours is not really such a big deal. For us everywhere is a long way away. If we want to go to Europe it’s 22 hours minimum. You kind of get used to the fact that if you want to travel outside of Australasia it’s going to take a loooong time.

My husband is Australian and we were just there in March. It was my second time there and the entire time I was thinking, “Next time I’m here we’ll probably have a kid with us. Whoa.” I studied all the traveling moms and dads the entire way there and back!

Love your list and there are a few things I’ll have to hit up next time—literally everything is amazing, great, and must-do in Australia.

Thank you for sharing all your fantastic photos — I am dying to visit Australia and New Zealand. I well remember what it as like traveling with a small child. It is not fun to get sick anytime, but especially in another country, so I am sure your husband’s illness was very frightening.

Yes, I am also loving Catastrophe, and can’t wait till they post the third season.

Obsessed with both Catastrophe and Australia! I’m hoping you got out to Palm Beach’s the Boat House. I have dreams of replicating it here. A few years ago I took my 4 kids to London and Paris and contracted what I diagnosed as Pleurisy…definitely tainted a dream vacation, so I get it.

I don’t get how you expected Australia to not feel so foreign.. I mean, I’m from a Greek speaking country, was taught the history of Greece, our nationality is Greek, but I am not Greek, I’m Cypriot, and I do feel that Greece (1-2hrs trip by plane away) is a foreign country! Imagine if it were a whole other continent! :p
Interesting perspective.
Getting sick while on a trip really, REALLY sucks. I went on a 10 day trip to the UK earlier this year, and got infected because a bug bit me on the ear, got infuenza type A, got a UTI, got seriously constipated and I was SO miserable. Can’t even imagine what it must have felt like for you… 🙁 Hope everyone is actually better now! xx

Oh, you have to come back. I feel like you saw some nice bits but not the best bits! So many design gems you obviously didn’t get the chance to get to. But glad you enjoyed the coffee! We’re all a bit bit obsessed by it in Sydney.

Flying across the world with two little ones scares the sh!t out of me. I have a 3 yo and a 1 yo and I can not imagine it. We are flying to NYC from Montana in a couple weeks and that is causing me a bit of anxiety already!

Don’t feel bad about complaining a bit. It’s a bummer when you go all that way and you can’t do much because 1/4 of you get really, really sick. It’s totally okay to complain about that. I’m sure the next time will go MUCH better.

I’m sorry that Brian got so sick! What a bummer. But it still sounds like a great trip and now that you’ve done a 15 hour flight with 2 tiny people, I think you can do anything!!

Also, love, love, love Catastrophe! It is crude and crass and so real and true, and I love it.
And there aren’t many shows that both I and my man-candy enjoy — but he really likes this one, too. yay for that!

What a great post. While I’m sorry Brian was ill, it sounds like you rallied and made the best of it. Still a wonderful opportunity! I frequently have friends or acquaintances inquire about our annual trip to Florida with our 5 kids….its wonderful to spend time together, but its tons of work, and it certainly isn’t a vacation. We always say “same circus, different tent”. Also, please skip the post about “how I entertained my toddlers/babies on a long flight”. Its been way over done.

We went to Hawaii last year and my husband got the flu really bad for half our trip. It was totally disappointing! So, I totally get where you are coming from. Especially, when you travelled so far to get there!

what a shame!! Hope your hubby is feeling better now…hope you do get a chance to come back sometime! So much to see both in Sydney and Australia wide…gorgeous pics and the kids looked like they had a great time!

Emily, you are certainly entitled to share the good, the bad and the ugly about both the everyday AND your vacations here! I totally understand how an illness can take the shine off of a vacation, and you don’t need to apologize for anything. Gosh, I wouldn’t have taken it nearly as well as you did! You’re a real trouper in my book. And yes, Catastrophe is great … I watched Season 1 in one (late) night and am just starting season 2. 🙂

My mind exploded a little when you mentioned Catastrophe because in many of these pictures of Brian I thought “he looks like Rob Delaney at this angle”. I then found myself wondering if you watch and think that IRL, and thinking about if we would talk about it if I ever met, because I am a crazy.

My husband and I lived in Australia in the late 80’s prior to having our boys. I always loved their style and No Worries attitude. Hope to return some day soon.
Thanks for sharing your adventure, I want to turn my back patio into a mini version of that outdoor bar at Watson’s Bay, love the green, black, white and wood!
Cheers

How lucky I am to have discovered your website (I’m not sure how)! Reading about your trip along with the fantastic pictures makes me a bit envious. I’ve wanted to go to Australia, yet there are sooo many places I’ve not been to. Thanks for sharing!

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Emily is a stylist, author and T.V. host with a strong commitment to vintage inspired approachable home style for every single person. Perfection is boring; Let’s get weird. learn more

Interior Design Blog by Emily Henderson

I started this interior design blog in 2010 as a journal of my style and home projects with the belief that design should be approachable, informational and accessible no matter what budget.

As a home style expert who has a strong commitment to peeling back the intimidating layers of the world of home decor, and showing how every person can have a beautiful home that represents their personality, no matter what the budget.

After styling for magazines and catalogues for years, I started my own interior design blog, won HGTV Design Star, and have gone on to host my own hit TV show Secrets from a Stylist, Author the book STYLED, and create the design firm Emily Henderson Design.

My motto has always been to write and publish on my blog what I personally want to read about.